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So, who spends most of their hobby and gaming time at home? Who spends most of their hobby time at the game store? If you do most of your hobby at home, is it to save money on not going out, is it for lack of a store, is it due to a lack of transportation? Is there another reason? Do you hobby and game at home for comfort reasons (i.e., the refrigerator is nearby, there's TV, etc.)?

For many years I used to do almost all of my hobby and gaming at home, but the past few years I do the preponderance of it at local game stores, mostly GW stores. Improvements in the stores plus a growing community has made it a lot of fun to go to the store and socialize while "hobbying". Additionally, there's the fun of trading feedback with other hobbyists, making new friends, getting into store events, etc.

I play the vast majority of my games at the old FLGS, but spend the most "hobby" time at home. Hobby time includes modeling/painting/posting to dakka.

20+ years of at home hobbying, not a lot of gaming.

Then a GW appeared from the warp not even 5 minutes away from the house!
I have my own seat now.

And none of you had better be sitting in it while I'm gone! You know who you are!!

Ditto augustus.

I do 90% of my modeling and painting at home, and all my gaming at the FLGS. I have a 4'x6' board at home, but for most of the people I play against, the store is closer. They have better terrain too.

Most of my hobbying at home.

All my gaming at the FLGS.

Most of my hobbying at home (assembling, painting, posting here), some at FLGS (painting with a former GW employee occasionally).
All my gaming at my FLGS.

Well, I do about 70% of my playing at my home or friend's homes.

In terms of my painting and modeling, while I'll occasionally bring a piece into the FLGS to work on, most of that is done at home. I find that I very seldom take pieces into the FLGS anymore. I used to hang out and paint when my friend Sean was in a tourney, but I've reached the point where my own army is large enough to compete.

Entertainingly enough, my painting tends to follow me on the road as well. I'm often abroad for several months of the year with work and I tend to take my kit and a few models with me. I remember sitting in my hotel room in Montreal one weekend and having four room attendants come in to 'make up the room' it turned out that one was there to actually do the room, but they all liked to come in and see what I'd painted the day before. A little off topic perhaps, but it's a fun story.

>90% @ home, mostly on forums, sometimes actually painting something

I only go to the GW store to play the occasional game (like a reward for finishing a painting project) or to pick up a special order.

Home its why I built 2 4x6 tables

Home. Almost 100% at home. The dedicated 40K times are WAY too busy, there is nothing in terms of painting that I can't do at home with better lighting, and I can't have a cat sit on my lap at the FLGS.

Also, there is no chance my wife might get in the mood while I'm at the FLGS.

Home=Win.

Nearly 100% at home or a friends house.

The LGS closest to me isn't that great... horrible lighting and cramped among other things.

I spend most of my building painting time at home.

And playing against people at my local wargaming club.

Paint at home, play at the store.

Edit: Home is where the idiot box is, and funnily enough less idiots to interrupt my painting.

Paint & convert at home; gaming is probably 50% at home (borrowing my wife's 50" x 100" fabric cutting table), 50% at the local gaming club. The gaming club is an easy 15-min drive away, and very friendly, and they have awesome terrain and cool players. Nearest GW is more like a 30-min drive away, in the next city, with no parking anywhere nearby...

The LGS closest to me isn't that great... horrible lighting and cramped among other things.

GW stores these days are clean and bright and when run properly family friendly too. This is where GW sets a good model for other stores and when that model isn't followed, stores lose customers.

What gaming time ? I spend all my time online! <3


hahah.

I have a gaming store about 10 minutes from home. But the weekends I don't have my kids (They're 9 and 7, almost at that playin' age) I spend quality time with the wife and get things done i normall y can't. i get about a game in every 3 -4 months. Working on my armies/painting? Almost nightly for the past 3 years

Painting and army building is 100% at home. 75% of gaming is done at the FLGS. When tourney season rolls around I switch store locations though.

Game time is store time.

Although I definitely only paint/model my armies at home.

BrassScorpion wrote:

The LGS closest to me isn't that great... horrible lighting and cramped among other things.

GW stores these days are clean and bright and when run properly family friendly too. This is where GW sets a good model for other stores and when that model isn't followed, stores lose customers.

This assumes there is a GW store nearby. I think my closest one is at least 3-1/2 to 4 hours away, and I live in a big city.

I like being alone when doing modeling.
The one time I tried doing anything in public was at a GW store, and every 10 minutes someone came up to me, staff and customer alike, asking what I was doing and offering their pearls of wisdom.

I'm a 99.999% home person as of recently. I've only played one game in about a year, which was a massacre (Hooray for me!). I'd play more if there were opponents around here or any kind of gaming scene in this entire country. Currently, I am painting for the National Japan Painting Competition to be held in Tokyo in November. I'm going through total nerd withdrawl that I've considered taking my next vacation in Oz just to game, eat suasage rolls, get baked and go to a beach that doesn't have 11 million empty Oolong tea bottles on it.

I'm one of the weird ones that does most of their painting and modelling at work. Yes, my job allows me to paint and convert my models while earning a paychech performing the duties they assign me. It's a hard life, eh?

It's a good thing too, because I don't get much time for the hobby at home. During the summer, my son attends a summer program that requires me to work a split shift and since the FLGS is between my job and the school, I'm able to paint there for a few hours, in addition to the time at work.

Playing is almost completely done at the local shops.

The one time I tried doing anything in public was at a GW store, and every 10 minutes someone came up to me, staff and customer alike, asking what I was doing and offering their pearls of wisdom.

I built and painted my models alone at home for many, many years. Moving to working on my hobby at the store, surprisingly, has been a largely extremely positive experience for me and I'm relatively easily annoyed. Here's why.

While I occasionally experience unwanted advice or comments, they're easily dismissed with a nod and a smile, then I ignore the "bad" advice. On the other hand, most of the comments and questions I get are extremely positive.

First, I've made friends with a lot of other hobby vets who often offer terrific suggestions while working. I often ask for feedback now while working. I don't always take the advice, often I do. Either way it results in new insights into my projects that in the end provide better results.

Second, as a better hobbyist than me once said to me, "the coolest thing is when someone walks up to you and says, 'how did you do that?'" It's a great feeling when you've done a model in a way that generates that kind of interest. It's also a lot of fun sharing your knowledge with others and helping them get excited about the hobby. Which takes me to the final point.

Third, it's great being able to help others get into the hobby, improve and expand their own skills, and then see the results. It helps the community grow, supports the hobby and wins you new friends.

And that is why, in spite of the occasional nuisance, I really enjoy converting, building and painting models in a social setting at the store. Hey, I think I just wrote the foundation for a new hobby article for BoLS!

Home.

I never paint/assembly stuff at a game store, I just don't have my tools available. I use a lot of power tools during the assembly process, and my own paint mixes while painting. Not having them at hand just doesn't work for me. Occasionally I will bring a box of bitz to a shop with me, and file off mold lines while waiting for a game.

As for gaming, I'll play at stores, especially in tournaments, but my normal weekly gaming is done at home (either mine or one of the other group member's), because we're all adults, and want to be able to have a few beers while playing - and avoid the kids.

I never paint/assembly stuff at a game store, I just don't have my tools available.

This concern raises an interesting issue which I definitely had to deal with when I first started building and painting at stores a lot. I ended up getting a Stanley tool box at WalMart for about $8. It is large, has 2 compartments on top with pop open lids and a removeable tray inside. I put most of my paint jars in the tray. In the bottom of the box I added a small square tray where I store additional paint, making it easy to take all my paint out and put it on the painting table next to me while leaving the rest of my supplies in the tool box. The rest of the box is full of file sets, sculpting tools, putties and glues, hobby clamps, a basing kit, brush soap and more. It holds an amazing amount of stuff and is tough, durable and portable. The top compartments hold bits, a pin vice, plastic cement (Model Masters by Testors), drill bits and other odd bits.

Now when I want to do a lot of pinning I have to think about it ahead of time if I'm going to do it at the store. I bring my portable power drill, a Dremel Stylus, along with associated accessories like eye protection, brass rod if needed, etc. if I plan ahead. I built the legs for my Forge World Chaos Warhound by planning ahead this way. On the other hand, this is one of those things I often still do at home because I don't have to pack the extra tools and supplies, I can just jump right on it at any table, then take the model to the store to paint it after it's built.

Kit bashing requires more space than many GW stores have, but I've done a lot at the Battle Bunker on slow days when I can use a lot of table space without infringing on space needed for others. I do sometimes do my kit-bashing at home still because I don't have to think of what parts I need ahead of time, I can go rummage for them as they occur to me. I like to prime and prep with any other spraying I'm going to do at home so that I can finish painting most of my models these days at the store.

Now I am planning to clean up my painting desk at home so I can go back to doing some major painting there too, but it is a lot of fun doing it at the store and the time for me is well spent while my son is off playing games with others at the store. It's great family time as well as hobby time.

Painting and Modeling done at the house.

Gaming done at the FLGS.

Though if I'm at my GW, I'll paint there as well.

At home. We dont likesss the sssun... It burnsss usssss!

I would say Gaming store normally... Lately at home though... normally I dont have the will power to paint or model for hours on end at home, but I go to my local GW for 9 hours every week so it usually ends up a few more hours a week at the game store... however my Chaos Dragon is making me spend many hours a day at home then 9 hours at my local GW painting my dragon some more!